SECOND GRADE . . . A Norman Rockwell Scene

Gianna E.

Second graders created landscapes of Ranney School. Can you recognize some of the buildings in Gianna's illustration? She drew a remarkable likeness of the Clock Tower, the Lower School building, the GPA and the Commons. But even more impressive are her details of the winter tree, the flag waving in the sky, the school bus filled with children, and the lovely and creative sky. We look at and admire these details to better appreciate her story of Ranney School.

Inspired by the artwork of Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), we saw how the amazing details of Rockwell's scenes help capture our interest and tell us his story about life in 20th century America. The image below is a street scene of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, the town where he lived. Norman Rockwell not only included the buildings on Main Street in Stockbridge, but he filled his painting with people and cars passing by to give us a sense of what life was like in his town. We can also tell it takes place during December by the Christmas decorations on the buildings, the bare trees outside, and the snow on the ground.

To create our landscapes, we looked carefully at the architectural details of the buildings on our campus. For the most part, the buildings all start off as a rectangle and many of them have a triangular roof just over the front door. Adding special details, such as the windows, the columns, a flag, a winter tree, a sign, and kids playing outside, help to describe what we see at our school.

Here are some more wonderful examples of our landscapes. To admire all of our work, follow this link to our exhibit page on artsonia.com.   http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Scout M.

William K.

Ava C.

Timmy K.

Alina P.

FIRST GRADE . . . Birch trees in the snow

Landscape by Asha

Our first grade landscapes feature watercolor birch trees. Students not only learned facts about these remarkable trees, but they also learned a few painting tips along the way!

Birch trees have a very characteristic bark, very similar in appearance to the trees in Asha's painting above. A birch is a medium sized tree that can reach up to 50 feet in height and can live to be 200 years old. The deep ridges in our trees are typical of an older birch tree. The seeds and the bark provide food for forest animals, such as rabbits, deer and birds. Wood from the birch tree can be used to make canoes, basketball courts, toys, furniture and paper!

Bella's trees after the
masking tape is removed.

To create our landscapes, we used an old painter's trick. After drawing a ground line across the page, first graders placed strips of masking tape on their paper. These strips represented the trees and the tape protected the white bark of the trees from getting covered with watercolor paints. Then we painted a sky using brilliant colors.

When the paint set, the strips of tape were peeled off the paper. Using a Sharpie marker, students drew the deep ridges of the birch tree bark. With test paper and more watercolors, we "watered" down some black paint to create just the right shade for the shadow along the bark of each tree. With another color, we cast a shadow over the snowy ground.



Here are some more examples of our beautiful winter landscapes. To see all of our work, follow this link to our home page of Artsonia!    http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Landscape by Deegan

Landscape by Nikita

Landscape by Marc

Landscape by Judah

Landscape by Sadie

FIRST GRADE . . . Weavings!

Weaving by Shiven

First Graders learned how to weave with yarn on a handmade loom. This is a project that celebrates the art and culture of the Native Americans and teaches us a wonderful technique using patterns.

Our handmade looms were created out of the cardboard base from water bottle trays and we recycle these looms every year. Six slits are cut into both ends of the cardboard and yarn is strung from top to bottom creating the warp (or vertical) strings of the loom.

Next, students choose a color of yarn to weave with. We learned how to measure the yarn against a table edge by working in pairs with our friends. One student holds the end of the yarn against the end of the table and the other student unrolls the yarn to match the length of the table and cuts it off.

To weave with our colored yarns, we learned how to follow a pattern of "Over, Under, Over, Under, Over, Under." Not only is the process of weaving a pattern, but we can also create a pattern by alternating colors of yarn. The completed weavings were then removed from the cardboard looms and they now hang from twigs that the students found outside and brought into school.

To see all of our weavings, follow this link to our 1st grade exhibit on artsonia.com.
http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Weaving by Andrew

Weaving by Holden

Weaving by Harley

Weaving by Lexi

Weaving by Robby

Weaving by Alex

PRE-KINDERGARTEN . . . Rainbow Fish!

Underwater scene by Angela

Pre-Kindergarten students just completed an underwater scene based on the illustrations in the book, "The Rainbow Fish," by Marcus Pfister. In this story, we read about a beautiful fish who learned the way to true happiness only after sharing his special scales with the other fish in the sea. What activities do you do at home that is more fun when you share them with your friends? Doesn't it feel good when you make someone you care about feel special too?

Here is a video of the story we read together in class to share with your family...

To create our paintings, we first learned how to draw a fish using basic shapes, such as a circle and a triangle. We also learned how to add scales inside the fish and how to complete a full underwater scene with an ocean bottom, plants, starfish, crabs and bubbles in the water.

Next, we created the ocean with a large brush, lots of water and blue watercolor paint. With glittering paints we added all the details of our scene. Finally, when all the paintings were complete, we shared a sparkling sticker with every fish and friend in class!

Here are some examples of our underwater scenes. To see all of our work, click on this link for artsonia. com and scroll down to the Pre-K exhibit.  http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Underwater scene by Arjun

Underwater scene by Aaliya

Underwater scene by Logan

Underwater scene by Sareena

FIFTH GRADE . . . Celebrating MLK

Stamp by Kieran C.

Fifth grade artists honored the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. by designing a postage stamp in his memory. Some students used a portrait for their stamp design, just as Kieran drew with his amazing likeness of MLK. The words in the background are from his famous speech. Our critique in class was filled with comments about how long it took to transcribe all those words as well as how well he captured his image.

Other students chose a more graphic look and some used alternative materials to compose their stamp, as Courtney did below. With Courtney's stamp, students noticed the contrast of her design and the wonderful symbolism behind her dark and light color choices.

Scroll down to see more of our beautiful stamp designs. All of these sketches are terrific expressions of how we celebrate MLK Day at Ranney School.

Stamp by Courtney C.

Stamp by Caitlyn C.

Stamp by Abriella Y.

Stamp by Desmond P.

Stamp by Ruby B.

Stamp by Sabrina L.

For all of our sketches, follow this link to the Ranney Home page of artsonia...
http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

BEGINNERS . . . A snowy, cold winter!

Snowman by Francesco

Beginners are continuing to become more confident artists, drawing and painting circles. Our snowmen paintings began with three large circles painted with a big brush and white paint. We added paper hats, scarves with fringes, and carrot-shaped noses. These young artists also painted twigs for arms, a face and buttons going down the front of their well-dressed but very cold friends. The snow in the sky was made with our fingerprints. Happy winter everyone!

Here are more examples of our snowmen. To see all of our work, click on this link for artsonia and look through our art projects.
http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Snowman by Adam

Snowman by Akira

Snowman by Catherine

FOURTH GRADE . . . Medieval doodling!

Horse by Mara M.

Fourth graders created these wonderful line drawings of horses in art. With all the busy patterns we used to fill our horses it was important that the silhouette of the animal be recognizable. To draw a realistic outline of a horse, we experimented with a few drawing techniques in class. One technique had us all laughing. We tried to draw a horse without looking at our papers (see examples below). These blind contour drawings were remarkably recognizable and many resemble the quick gesture drawings of Picasso! Then we tried drawing our horses upside down. This technique sounds strange, but it allowed us to observe the angles and shapes of the animal most accurately. Once our outline was complete we were ready to tackle the small patterns that filled the space.

Blind contour drawing of a horse by Alexander L.

Blind contour drawing of a horse by Luke N.

Our completed horse drawings were filled with line patterns called Zentangles, a fancy word for a doodle that is formed with repetitive strokes. Zentangles are meant to be a peaceful exercise as the word "zen" implies. Once you decide to draw a certain type of line or a swirl, you simply repeat it a few times. You do not have to constantly make new decisions, just enjoy the art of repeating the lines you draw and the overall pattern they create. Not everyone chose to fill their horse with the patterns. As you can see by Saahil's drawing below, some students filled the background and left their horse white!

Zentangles could be considered a modern form of doodling, but detailed line patterns can be traced back in time to the decorative artwork of ancient cultures.

During the Medieval age, designs like these were used in manuscript illuminations, such as seen on the pages of the Book of Kells, an illuminated Gospel book written in Latin.

Here are some of our beautiful Zentangle horses for you to marvel at! To see all of our work, click on this link for artsonia.com. http://www.artsonia.com/schools/school.asp?id=114839

Horse by Zuri T.

Horse by Saahil G.

Horse by Tori R.

Horse by Jack F.

Horse by Yasmeen K.

FIFTH GRADE . . . Happy New Year!

Sketch by Rianna

Happy New Year from our artists in 5th grade! 

Sketch by Lynna

Sketch by Rithvik

Sketch by Marley

Sketch by Abriella

Sketch by Santino